When we connect, we feel better.
Talking to others about how we feel is important. In fact, connection is one of the best things we can do for our mental health.
Being connected is linked to increased life expectancy, improved physical and mental health, healthy behaviours, and overall positive wellbeing.
Australia Post and Beyond Blue launched the Connections Postcard campaign in 2021 to help people connect with friends and family during COVID lockdowns. Thankfully this time is now behind us, but the importance of connection remains.
Being connected is linked to increased life expectancy, improved physical and mental health, healthy behaviours, and overall positive wellbeing.
Australia Post and Beyond Blue launched the Connections Postcard campaign in 2021 to help people connect with friends and family during COVID lockdowns. Thankfully this time is now behind us, but the importance of connection remains.
What we know
Australians are experiencing increased levels of loneliness, isolation, and social disconnection. Although we live in a world that has never been more connected digitally, people are feeling more disconnected than ever before.
- 1 in 3 Australians feel lonely and people in rural areas are more likely to feel lonely.
- 1 in 6 are experiencing severe loneliness.
- An increasing number of 15–24-year-olds experience the highest levels of loneliness, more than other age groups.
- People across all age groups appear to be having less social contact now than in the past two decades. The average person now gets together socially with friends or relatives about once a month.
- Lonely people may feel stigmatised and a sense of shame.
- People who are severely lonely are almost five times more likely to experience depression, more than four times more likely to have social anxiety, and twice as likely to suffer from chronic disease.
Why does connection matter?
- Feeling connected to others plays a key role in our mental health and wellbeing. As we continue to face many challenges, from extreme weather and disasters to economic and family pressures, it’s more important than ever to stay connected and support each other.
- People who are connected are less likely than those who are lonely to have depression, social anxiety, and chronic disease.
- People who are connected report a significantly higher quality of life than people who are severely lonely.
- People who are connected report greater work productivity compared with people who are lonely.
Connection is key.
Connection is powerful. When people feel less alone, they are stronger and better equipped to cope with life's challenges.
There are lots of different ways you can reach out and connect with someone else to support your own or another person's mental health. One of the best ways to combat loneliness is to share what's going on in your life and open up to someone or provide a listening ear for others. This first step can make a huge difference.
People who are connected may also feel more confident in starting a mental health conversation with their loved ones, opening the door to mental health support
There are lots of different ways you can reach out and connect with someone else to support your own or another person's mental health. One of the best ways to combat loneliness is to share what's going on in your life and open up to someone or provide a listening ear for others. This first step can make a huge difference.
People who are connected may also feel more confident in starting a mental health conversation with their loved ones, opening the door to mental health support
How to use your postcard
Send your Connections Postcard to someone you care about.
Showing how much you value relationships is good for you and others.
- Share a thought. Tell someone you are thinking of them and that you are never too far away for a chat.
- Share a memory of something that you have experienced together to help you feel closer even if you are apart.
- Share a story from your life recently and ask for one in return.
- Send your Connections Postcard to someone you are worried about. Connecting in this way could be an opportunity to help someone that is seeking support.
Other ways to connect
- Practice genuinely listening and understanding other’s experiences.
- Engage with colleagues and enjoy learning more about them.
- Fill your house with music that makes you feel good.
- Seek meaningful interactions where you talk about your feelings, actively listen to others, or discuss topics that you are passionate about.
- Strengthen the existing relationships that you have.
- Join an online community.
- Reconnect with people from your past that you may have lost touch with.
- Get outside in nature. Visit a park or take a walk around your neighbourhood.
- Explore your creative side and engage in activities such as art, music or writing that bring you happiness.
- Volunteer for a cause that means something to you.
- Send a letter or a card to a loved one and tell them what they mean to you.
- Introduce yourself to your neighbours.
- Schedule time each day to stay in touch with family, friends and loved ones, either in person, online or via text.
- Spend time with animals and feel the companionship and comfort their presence brings.
- Be kind and willing to engage with people around you, even strangers.
- Be of service and care for others.
- Schedule catch ups with loved ones in advance.
- If being alone at certain times is challenging, plan to ensure you have company during these difficult periods.
- Get out of the house and go where other people congregate.
- Find a faith-based organisation where you can deepen your spirituality and engage with others in activities and events.
- Join a social support group.
- Go to local events such as markets, gigs, and exhibitions and get to know your community.
- Practice gratitude and remind yourself of the valuable connections you do have.
- Set yourself a goal to do one good deed a day for someone else.
- Take the initiative - plan an outing and extend an invite for someone else to join you.
- Take up a course at a community college.
- Acquire a new hobby that you can share with others.
- Play a sport that involves being a valued member of a team.
Further resources
- Crisis support - Call 000, or Lifeline: 24-hour crisis counselling, support groups and suicide prevention services. Call 13 11 14, text 0477 13 11 14 or chat online.
- NASBO - the NewAccess Service for Small Business Owners
- NewAccess - Get 6 free sessions with a mental health coach if you’re not currently seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist. Just go online and see if there’s a service in your area. They are not in all areas yet.
Premier partner: Australia Post
With a central presence in over 4,000 communities across the country and the ability to connect millions of Australians every year, Australia Post is committed to delivering much more than letters and parcels.
